What better way to celebrate the arrival of 2013 than with the best sounds of 2012? We've got the best indie, world and alt-latino music from the past year. Our regular music critics Steve Hochman, Josh Kun and Drew Tewksbury gave us their top picks for 2012.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced she was stepping down from the Cabinet after the State of the Union early next year. Jackson has won praise from environmentalists for revitalizing the agency after the Bush Administration.

Few topics in 2012 seemed as tailor-made for OnCentral — a blog that focuses on issues of health and quality of life in South Los Angeles — as the Supreme Court's ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The renovation of Clifton’s Cafeteria means something different to everybody; the people who’ve visited it for decades, reveling in the reliable three-bean salad and colorful Jell-o have every right to be concerned with what the restaurant’s future holds. The new owner is transforming the building from a forest-themed cafeteria with a long-standing “pay-what-you-can” business model to a 24/7, multi-story, multi-themed collection of bars and restaurants.